GTA

By Alexandra Jones Staff Reporter Sun., Jan. 20, 2019 As temperatures plummet to some of the coldest of the season so far, provincial police say the winter weather is factoring into a steady increase of crashes in Greater Toronto Area this weekend. Sgt. Kerry Schmidt says officers responded to over 350 crashes in the GTA within 24 hours starting on Saturday afternoon. Most of Ontario is under an extreme cold weather alert and the southern half of the province received a fresh blanket of snow on Saturday night. Schmidt has been posting the increasing number of collisions on GTA roads on Twitter. Article Continued Below One of the crashes saw a vehicle lose control in the snow, hitting a transport truck that then rolled into a ditch. Schmidt says no one was injured in the crash, but other drivers might not be as lucky if they’re not careful. Toronto police tweeted about numerous collisions on Sunday. One collision in the area of Woodbine Ave. and … [Read more...] about OPP respond to more than 350 snow-related crashes on GTA roads

By Oakville Beaver Sun., Jan. 20, 2019 A 64-year-old Milton man is dead after crashing into a tree in Oakville early Sunday morning. Initial reports suggest the man suffered a medical episode, which caused him to drive his pickup truck into a tree on Upper Middle Road, east of Dorval Drive. Emergency crews were called to the scene shortly before 5 a.m. The man — the lone occupant of the vehicle — was taken to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The sudden arrival of snow this weekend led to icy conditions and more than 200 accidents on GTA roads between Friday and Saturday evening, according to Ontario Provincial Police. The Collision Reconstruction Unit has taken over the investigation inOakville. Article Continued Below The road was closed for approximately four hours for the at-scene investigation. Any witnesses who have not yet spoken to police are asked to contact the Collision Reconstruction Unit at 905-825-4747 … [Read more...] about Milton man dead after truck hits tree in Oakville

By Donovan Vincent Housing Reporter Sat., Jan. 19, 2019 It only takes a few minutes for the TTC stops at Dufferin and Bloor to become jammed with people waiting in line for a bus — so what’s going to happen when thousands of new residents move into the area? On any given weekday travellers pour up the stairs from the subway stop below. Teenagers from nearby Bloor Collegiate stream to the bus. The students share jokes and listen to music on each other’s headphones, standing at the bus stop alongside people who’ve just wrapped up an afternoon of shopping at the popular Dufferin Mall. You’ll find local residents in the line, like Kerry McArthur, a business owner who sometimes uses the Dufferin bus to get around. “The bus can get pretty packed. I’m not looking forward to getting on,” McArthur says, as she stays warm inside Dufferin station on a frigid afternoon, looking through the glass for the southbound … [Read more...] about Jam-packed Dufferin St. is speeding toward rapid densification

By Jacques Gallant Legal Affairs Reporter Sat., Jan. 19, 2019 Another drug case tossed due to delay at the Brampton courthouse, another judge calling out the federal prosecution service for failing to provide timely disclosure of evidence to the defence. Superior Court Justice David E. Harris went as far as describing what happened in a drug importation case as “Crown negligence,” according to a ruling released on Christmas Eve. He stayed the case against Chanelle Belle, who had been charged in October 2016 with importing seven kilograms of cocaine through Pearson International Airport and was originally supposed to face a trial last June. “On the eve of trial in Superior Court, the Crown disclosed a mountain of information extracted from the applicant’s cellphone, 12,000 pages in all,” Harris wrote. “This could have and should have been provided many months before. No explanation of any kind has been provided. Nor is any … [Read more...] about Judge tosses Brampton drug case, slams Crown ‘negligence’ for disclosing ‘mountain’ of evidence on eve of trial

By Peter Howell Movie Critic Sat., Jan. 19, 2019 It was a bittersweet anniversary Saturday, as volunteers for the Project Winter Survival homeless relief effort packed emergency kits and sleeping bags to prevent further Toronto street deaths during a weekend cold snap. “Today is the 20th annual Engage and Change Project Winter Survival and while some people said that’s incredible, it’s pathetic,” said Jody Steinhauer, the founder of Project Winter Survival. She blamed the city of Toronto for failing to prevent two recent exposure deaths — and a suspected third — of homeless people on its streets. “We should not have to be building survival kits in the city of Toronto to keep people from freezing to death,” an impassioned Steinhauer told volunteers and journalists at the North York warehouse of the Bargains Group, the clothing wholesaler she heads. She said Project Winter Survival has been besieged with … [Read more...] about Homeless aid group makes a difference but demands change